Scientists coordinate a new Horizon 2020 project on how air pollution affects climate

The project ”Constrained aerosol forcing for improved climate projections”, or FORCeS, will contribute to more precise climate projections by reducing the uncertainty on how particles in the air affect climate.

FORCeS brings together 20 European research teams at the forefront of different facets of climate research.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to collaborate with these world-leading researchers and honored to coordinate this effort. This work can make a substantial difference when it comes to understanding the factors driving changes in the Earth’s climate,” says Ilona Riipinen, professor of atmospheric sciences at the Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), who coordinates the project together with Annica Ekman, professor of meteorology at the Department of Meteorology, (MISU).

A transdisciplinary collaboration between experts

The project is a transdisciplinary collaboration between experts on the process and climate scale.

”We believe that one of the key hinders for reducing uncertainty in climate projections has been missing or incomplete links between knowledge on the process scale and model application on the climate scale. FORCeS will address this critical knowledge gap using a combination of observational data from laboratory, field and satellites as well as theoretical approaches ranging from molecular theory to Earth system modeling. The data will be analysed with novel statistical and data science techniques,” says Ilona Riipinen.

The project will last for four years and the budget is approximately 8.0 million euros, of which 1.4 goes to Stockholm University. FORCeS is the first project of its kind coordinated by Stockholm University, and is a result of long-term collaborative efforts between the researchers at the various partner organizations.

“Besides the extraordinary engagement of our European collaborators, the support we have received from Stockholm University research support office and the faculty in general has been instrumental in the process of planning the project and its management”, Ekman and Riipinen say.

Annica Ekman believes that the team’s different knowledge and expertise will shed light on one of the biggest issues currently in climate science.

“To know if and how we can limit harmful global warming, we need to narrow down the uncertainty regarding the climate impact of air pollution particles. Our project will help developing relevant and efficient air pollution and climate mitigation policies for the near-term future”, she says.

“We seek to provide key pieces of information required to successfully meet the Paris agreement targets and hence limit the negative consequences of climate change on the life on Earth”, says Ilona Riipinen.

The kick-off meeting of the project will take place in Stockholm in November 2019.